In early October, three mothers joined forces for a social media campaign on Facebook which was aimed at highlighting the issue.

As a result, over 65 other drivers came forward to say the same thing has occurred to their model.

Vauxhall has been investigating the problem for months, but has so far only seen a few dozen cars - and a spokesperson said: "If you have any concerns about the operation of the heating ventilation system, any funny noises in the car then pick up the phone call your local dealer or our customer services.

"Book the vehicle in for a check and the vehicle will be inspected professionally and we'll look at the component we think may be faulty. When we find the root cause we will take the next step.

"That could be a recall, whatever, we've just got to get to that root cause, that's a key thing for us."

Vauxhall has now written to dealerships advising them to do checks for any concerned customers free of charge, and released a statement to its drivers across the country.

The company said: "Our investigations have found that a number of incidents have occurred due to previous repairs being performed improperly, or using certain non-genuine parts."

Soon, it is expected that the company will create a customer helpline for those worrying they may be affected.